"none of the principal foodcrops of the tropics is palatable
unless it has been cooked first. lack of fuel can be as much
a cause of malnutrition as the lack of food."

gunnar poulsen

man and trees in tropical africa

"it costs as much to heat a pot as to fill it"

old african proverb

(quoted in smil and knowland, 1980)

"cooking is one of the most culture-bound of human activities.
food preparation, serving time and place, food flavor and cooking
participants often are established by long tradition and, therefore,
are resistant to change. social and religious customs may ...eliminate
certain technology options even if energy output is good."

ashworth and neuendorffer

matching renewable energy systems to

village-level energy needs

this thesis is for my former students in bohicon and savalou,
benin, whose pointed and often unanswerable questions pushed me
towards my own inquiries into radical alternatives, with sincere
thanks to all those who contributed their time, talents, finances,
and sweat to this project, especially

solar cookers international of sacramento, the international agricultural
development graduate group at uc davis, and the uc davis women's
resources and research center, without whose financial sponsorship
this research would not have been possible;

thesis cohorts robin kozloff and barbara naess, and bea calo,
for their steady encouragement and well-timed jokes; and last
but by no means least

jim grieshop, barbara goldman and keith barton for their patience,
support and discriminating judgment in guiding me through the
process of writing this thesis.

patrice mary rodgers

december 1994

applied behavioral sciences:

international agricultural development

solar cookers in zimbabwe:

the introduction of a radical innovation in cooking

abstract

this study evaluated a zimbabwean/american promotion project to
introduce a new technology, the solar box cooker (sbc),
as part of a community development effort in the mutare district
of zimbabwe. the study attempted to evaluate the degree of sbc
use among the project participants, to determine whether or not
and to what degree the technology had been adopted, and if it
had diffused to other households.

the evaluation study took place in the mutare district of zimbabwe
where a total of 171 people had attended sbc workshops
in 1989 and 1990, during which they had built their own sbc.
in 1992, as part of the evaluation, five interviewers spent 3
weeks interviewing workshop participants. in all, 155 of the
original 171 participants were located and interviewed, a 91%
sample.

the sbc, considered by its promoters to be a simple technology
because of its uncomplicated design, is able to cook almost any
type of food entirely with solar power. in zimbabwe, where much
of the country is deforested and where 25%-40% of the average
yearly income might be spent on cooking fuel, the potential benefits
of solar cooking appear to be enormous: its use could contribute
significantly to a decrease in the rate of deforestation, as well
as provide benefits which could lead to an increase in the general
physical and financial health of the population.

results of the 1992 survey showed that 2-3 years after the promotional
workshops, the sbc had been adopted by many of the target
population in that they used it to some extent, but the actual
degree of utilization of the technology was much less than the
climate of zimbabwe could potentially allow. no diffusion of
the idea was evident, however: sbc use by other community
members was not observed.

traditional factors such as area communication channels, the socio-economic
context in which the sbc is utilized, and the innovation
itself were examined in order to explain this puzzle. these components,
however, do not completely explain why this seemingly ideal technology
has not rapidly diffused to a wider area, and other elements,
including cultural factors, promotional techniques, and a re-examination
of the presumed simplicity of the sbc, are also considered.

numerous constraints to the adoption of the sbc were discovered,
including economic, logistical, cultural, promotional/educational,
and community-related factors. in the face of these constraints,
a re-examination of the assumed "simplicity" of the
sbc was made, and a hypothesis proposed: since use of
the sbc in zimbabwe demands a change in lifestyle for its
target users, the innovation should be considered a "radical"
rather than a "simple" one, and the promotional techniques
used to advance it must adapt to that definition.

suggested techniques considered include the use of multiple
introduction and multiple communication channels, and
the active promotion of re-invention.

many technological innovations remain under-utilized in areas
of the world where they have been introduced. even innovations
which seem to provide the perfect answer to serious and longstanding
problems, and which appear compatible with existing social, financial
and technical constraints may nonetheless remain virtually unused,
even after long periods of time (rogers, 1984).

studies of this phenomenon have identified distinct phases in
the processes of adoption and diffusion of innovations, and many
diverse constraining factors have been implicated (brown,1981:8).
however, the underlying causes of the phenomenon are not easily
generalized, since the constraints to adoption of an innovation
may differ dramatically from case to case: in a well-known story
(made famous by everett rogers) of the use of citrus fruits by
the british navy for prevention of scurvy, apparent constraints
to citrus adoption included competition and the lack of prominence
of the navy physician who tested and promoted the its use (rogers:1971);
in "gunfire at sea", etling morison describes constraints
to the adoption of continuous aim firing that included
disbelief in the potential of the innovation, an inefficient bureaucracy,
and a resistance to change in the power structure of the american
navy at that period of time (morison:1966); an early 1960's study
by richard o. carlson in allegheny county, pennsylvania found
that an important constraint to the rapid adoption of modern math
by some school superintendents was a lack of sufficient degree
of friendship with other superintendents in the same geographical
area (carlson:1967). numerous other studies of assorted innovations
such as the querty typewriter keyboard, metal ships, family planning,
high-yielding seed varieties, the thompson submachine gun, automobile
seatbelts, microwave ovens, recycling, the personal computer,
etc. provide many hours of fascinating reading.

traditional innovation diffusion research has focused on several
elements related to the success or failure of an innovation's
adoption and diffusion: the innovation itself, characteristics
of the adopter, existing communication channels, time,
and the social system within which the innovation will
be used. examination of these elements, however, does not always
explain why some innovations are rapidly adopted and diffused
and others are not. citing a 1946 case study as an example, robert
solo offers one explanation when he says:

"(a) new technology (is) not disseminated simply because
of its benefits and availability. even when potential recipients
were highly knowledgeable and sophisticated scientists, and where
no barriers to its transfer existed, the widespread adoption of
the new technology required specific commitment and sustained
effort to promote an awareness of its potential values, and to
educate...in the skills required for its use." (solo, 1972:
p.18).

everett rogers agrees when he states that even good innovations
"do not sell themselves" (rogers, 1983:7). the "selling"
of an innovation, therefore, whether commercial or educational
promotion, must be examined as well. promotional methods may
be an especially important factor in situations where the innovation
is not a simple one. in cases where a initial introduction is
the only promotion employed for a given innovation, the adoption
and diffusion of an otherwise useful and appropriate innovation
may stagnate.

to prevent this stagnation, a promotional strategy which incorporates
multiple introductions and multiple communication channels, allowing
each time for the refining and adaptation (re-invention) of the
innovation as well as that of the promotional technique, may be
necessary. the use of this strategy becomes even more critical
with complex innovations (i.e., those containing complicated physical/theoretical
elements) or radical innovations, defined here as those
innovations requiring significant changes in the lifestyle of
the adopter.

multiple introduction provides a structure for evaluating an innovation
in a particular setting, identifying the constraints associated
with its use there, and formulating a strategy for improving adoption
and diffusion by addressing those constraints.

this research examined the 1989 introduction of a radical innovation,
the solar box cooker, in the mutare district of zimbabwe. specific
constraints associated with the innovation's adoption in that
area were identified, and a strategy proposed to utilize multiple
introduction, multiple communication channels, and the promotion
of re-invention to increase its potential for widespread use in
zimbabwe.

background

zimbabwe

zimbabwe lies in the southern hemisphere and in the southern part
of the african continent. mozambique borders its eastern and
northeastern sides, with zambia to the northwest, botswana to
the west, and south africa to the south. average temperatures
range from 15oc to 20oc, with the highest temperatures occurring
in summer, between november and may.

mutare and its surrounding district are located at the extreme
east of the country, just a few kilometers from mozambique. the
town lies in the eastern highlands, about 1200 meters above sea
level, and roughly 50 km from the nyanga mountains and mt. nyangani,
the highest point in the country.

figure 1: map of africa

figure 2: map of study areas within mutare district

statistics for 1987 give zimbabwe's population as 9 million.
its $580 per capita gnp is one of the highest in africa, and life
expectancy in zimbabwe (58 years) is also one of the best in the
developing world (the international bank for reconstruction and
development, 1989).

zimbabwe existed as the british colony of rhodesia from 1890 until
1965, when descendants of the original white settlers declared
independence from england in an (ultimately failed) attempt to
maintain white minority rule. in 1980, majority rule was established
and the country was renamed zimbabwe, translated as "house
of stone" from shona, the most widely used local language.

during the 90 years of british rule, the all-white parliament
had set aside the best agricultural lands for white settlers,
leaving the poorer, less fertile lands to the black majority.
in a 1980 post-colonization effort to redistribute land, the
new zimbabwean government relocated black zimbabweans from their
crowded communal lands to areas that were once for whites only.
the new areas, referred to as "resettlement areas",
are scattered over much of the country. roughly three quarters
of zimbabwe's population still lives in the communal areas.

zimbabwe is fortunate to have a favorable climate and fertile
soils for agricultural endeavors. much of zimbabwe is under cultivation,
with less than 3% of the country's area unsuitable for any agricultural
activity in the absence of irrigation, and since independence
in 1980, the country has been largely self-sufficient with respect
to food production, producing an average of 1.5 million tons of
maize (its staple food crop) per year.

from 1989 to 1992, however, zimbabwe suffered a major drought.
in most of the country, little or no rain fell for over 2 years.
with relatively few irrigated crops, zimbabwe switched almost
overnight from providing grain for much of southern africa to
importing drought relief from the united states and other countries.
in 1993, the rains began again, and the drought seems to have
eased, though long term effects will no doubt be seen for some
time.

though much of zimbabwe's population lives in sparsely populated,
rural areas, a network of paved roads connect many of the city
centers and village centers in the 8 provinces. electricity,
telex and telephone service are widely available in urban and
suburban areas, and the national railway line connects cities
in zimbabwe with each other and with neighboring countries. three
satellite stations in zimbabwe allow transmission outside the
country, and 7 airports or airstrips allow for international flights
as well as in-country hops.

zimbabwe's urban population grew from 14% in 1965 to 26% in 1987,
and continues to increase. as in many other countries, this growth
is largely a result of migration to urban centers by young men
in search of work. half of the urban population, or about 1.1
million people, live in harare, the capital of zimbabwe.

zimbabweans, like residents of many other african countries, are
dependent on firewood for most of their cooking and much of their
heating needs. largely due to this fact, the thick forests that
once covered much of the country have decreased, over the last
300 years, to a small fraction of what they once were. the remaining
forest is still being harvested, though reforestation projects
have slowed somewhat the overall deforestation rate.

women and children in zimbabwe spend an increasing number of hours
each week gathering fuel for cooking. where fuelwood is no longer
available to be collected, a large percentage of annual income
must be spent to buy either it, or another type of cooking fuel.

the mutare district of zimbabwe, where the evaluation study took
place, is an excellent representative district for the country
as a whole. its urban center, mutare, is itself a large town
and well-connected by road and train line to harare (several hours
drive away). mutare is immediately surrounded by large expanses
of sparsely populated rural "resettlement areas". as
elsewhere in zimbabwe, deforestation is a significant problem,
though perhaps less so than is evident in the area immediately
surrounding harare. plan international has been operating in
the mutare district of zimbabwe since 1987. one of its goals
for work in the district has been conservation of natural resources,
and that, combined with plan's goal of increasing child survival,
made the solar box cooker an ideal technology to test.

solar box cookers

the idea of solar cooking and the ability to cook food safely
with solar energy have existed for almost 300 years: solar cookers
have ranged from simple glass-covered passive solar energy-using
holes in the ground to sophisticated high tech energy-storing
cookers with reflectors and sun-tracking capabilities. in 1976,
an inexpensive, easy-to-build solar box cooker (sbc) was
developed by barbara kerr and sherry cole, two arizona women.
using their design, and with a minimum of expense and expertise,
a solar box cooker capable of reaching moderate (200-2500f) cooking
temperatures can be built with cardboard, glass and aluminum foil,
and then used for cooking food and pasteurizing water. the sbc,
defined by promoters as a simple technology because of its uncomplicated
design and easy use, is fashioned to cook almost any type of food
entirely with solar power. its simple "box-within-a-box"
design (see figure 3) utilizes the greenhouse effect, allowing
light energy (sunlight) to enter the box through a pane of glass,
but keeping heat energy from escaping. the unique design of the
box allows even a partially sunny day to create an oven which
can easily reach 225o f in an hour.

figure 3: diagram of solar box cooker(from sci pamphlet)

among its advantages are the facts that nearly any kind of food
can be cooked in a matter of hours, there is no need to tend to
the cooking, and the fuel is free and plentiful. this last factor
is of critical import to women and children in many developing
countries who spend hours each week gathering sufficient wood
for cooking. also important are the numerous environmental and
health problems which the use of solar cooking can potentially
alleviate (see table 1, and figures 4a and 4b).

table 1: problems sbcs can potentially impact

agricultural problems caused by severe burns to toddlers who
a shortage of women's labor at fall into ground fires, or are
seasons of peak labor demand, burned by splashing food,
health problems caused by parasite problems caused by
constant exposure to the smoke of lack of adequate fuel to pasteurize
cooking fires, water, and
poverty, due to the large air pollution from smokey
percentage of income which must go fires.
into purchasing cooking fuel,
deforestation, and the erosion
of soil caused by deforestation,

realizing its potential as an aid against these types of environmental
problems,

especially in the developing world, kerr and cole have placed
their sbc design in the public domain for non-profit use.

the food and agriculture organization of the u.n. has predicted
that by the year 2000, fuelwood shortages will affect over 2 billion
people around the world. (fao, 1981). in zimbabwe, where much
of the country is deforested and where 25% of the average yearly
income might be spent on cooking fuel, the potential benefits
of even partial use of the sbc are therefore significant.

figure 4c: cutting firewood in the mutare district

figure 5: buying firewood in harare

figure 6: women cooking

participants in the sbc introduction project

the original sbc introduction project involved two participants:
solar box cookers international (now, solar cookers
international) of sacramento, california, and the plan
international (formerly foster parent's plan, international)
field office in mutare, zimbabwe.

solar cookers international

solar cookers international (sci) is a sacramento, california-based
non-profit organization whose mission is to advance, worldwide,
knowledge of solar cooking. the organization was formed in 1987
and is mainly composed of volunteers. sci works principally through
multiplier agencies -- that is, agencies which deal directly with
the community and which multiply sci efforts. the organization
has been conducting informational workshops around the world for
several years. workshops are arranged in response to a request
for information from an individual or (more often) from a group
who has heard of solar cooking and wants to learn more. to date,
sci has given 1 to 5-day workshops on solar cooking in more than
a dozen developing countries around the world.

the organization's goal is that by the year 2000, 2.4 people billion
(corresponding to the fao-projected number of people who will
suffer from fuel shortages -- see page 11) will have access to
information about solar cooking.

workshop participants range from high level country administrators
to subsistence farmers and rural homemakers (see table 2). there
is generally a small donation of money or materials asked of participants.
most of the expenses incurred by sci are covered by grant funding
from various agencies -- freedom from hunger foundation
and the food industry crusade against hunger being two
of the most recent.

introductory workshops are run on a tight budget, and significant
funds for formal follow-up to any of the projects have been largely
unavailable to sci. at the time of this evaluation, however,
sci was in the midst of a continuing evaluation of its workshop
projects, using a questionnaire it had developed for that purpose.

plan international

plan international of mutare was the multiplier agency for the
sbc workshops in mutare. plan international is a non-profit,
non-sectarian, non-partisan organization "serving needy children,
their families and communities in developing countries."
(description from plan international brochure). once dedicated
solely to providing funds for childrens' schooling and health
care through individual sponsorship (foster parents plan), plan
international has expanded to include backing for projects involving
entire communities. in zimbabwe, the plan international office
at mutare (hereafter referred to as plan mutare) has financially
and logistically supported the building of schools and health
clinics, the digging of boreholes (wells), the training of teachers
and community workers, the formation of both men's and women's
cooperatives, and various other community-initiated projects which
employ and train local workers.

table 2: participants in the 1989 sbc introduction project

participantsrolepurpose
solar cookers consulting promote sbcs in zimbabwe
international
plan international, logistics, increase community health and
mutare instruction well-being by creating and
maintaining programs applicable
to daily life in mutare district.
food industry crusade funding maintain good community relations
against hunger by assisting in charitable causes
community development student become familiar with building and
workers (plan) participants using an sbc in order to pass
along knowledge to community
members
mutare district student provide visibility for sbc use to
community leaders, participants other community members
county administrators
mutare district student acquire sbc, and knowledge for
community members participants using it, to ameliorate problems
associated with daily cooking of
food.

the introduction of solar box cookers in zimbabwe

in june of 1989, sci co-founder dr. robert metcalf, responding
to an earlier request from plan, arrived in zimbabwe to assist
with a 3-day workshop in building and using solar box cookers.
over the course of the workshop, 29 people built solar box cookers
and took them home to use.

a contingent of plan community development (cd) workers were part
of that group of 29, and over the next year, gave similar workshops
in their own communities. one year later, a total of 171 people,
including the original 29 cd workers, had attended solar box workshops
and built their own cooker.

evaluation of the introduction project

the purpose of this research was to evaluate the progress and
success to date of the sbc introduction project by determining
the degree of adoption and diffusion of the solar box cooker.
the evaluation study took place in july 1992, in the mutare district
of zimbabwe.

the sbc introduction project provided a good opportunity for study
for several reasons: it had not yet been evaluated, english is
widely spoken in zimbabwe, and the time period between the introduction
and the evaluation seemed ideal -- the 2-3 year lag time was likely
to allow for adoption, diffusion, disinterest and/or discontinuance
to begin to occur. with the help of bev blum, the executive director
of solar cookers international, i was put in touch with stanley
mashumba, the evaluation coordinator for plan mutare. mr. mashumba
and i spoke on the phone (in somewhat time-disjointed conversations,
due to the phone connection) and exchanged faxes while working
out some of the logistics and associated costs.

prior to my arrival, as agreed, mr. mashumba hired interviewers
to conduct the evaluation interviews with former workshop participants.
as we had discussed on the phone, all the interviewers were women,
all were high school graduates, and all spoke both shona (the
predominant local language) and english.

also prior to my arrival, the cd workers who had been involved
in the original sbc introduction effort contributed to
a list of names for those people in their areas who had attended
workshops in 1989-90, and mr. mashumba began to make logistical
arrangements for locating as many workshop participants as possible.

purpose and scope of the study

on a practical level, the purpose of this study was to evaluate
the 1989-90 introduction project and find out what adoption/diffusion-hindering
problems might or might not exist with either the solar cooker
technology as used in zimbabwe, or as related to constraints associated
uniquely with zimbabwe's physical/cultural climate. with these
problems in mind, specific recommendations for sbc introduction
programs in other locations could then be made.

my hypothesis was that the sbc was a radical innovation whose
use would present an assortment of difficulties for the potential
zimbabwean adopter to overcome, and which the promoter would need
to address if widespread adoption were to occur. on an theoretical
level, therefore, the study's purpose was to attempt to identify
general techniques which might increase the chances for successful
introductions of radical innovations, thereby contributing to
current theories on adoption and diffusion.

organization of the thesis

the thesis is divided into 5 sections:

1. the literature review which briefly summarizes relevant
diffusion research to date, and shows how this study fits into
that research;

2. the methodology section which provides details on how
the evaluation work was carried out, from training of interviewers
to calculation of data;

3. the results and data section which specifically describes
the results of the interviews conducted with sbc workshop
participants;

4. the discussion which expands upon, and interprets the
results; and

5. the conclusions and recommendations section which puts
the preceding discussion into a general framework for examining
radical innovations, and which makes recommendations for future
sbc promotion, and radical innovation introduction in general.

chapter 2: literature review

the purpose of this study was to identify, through an evaluation
of a solar box cooking introduction project in zimbabwe, the constraining
factors impeding the adoption and diffusion of this radical innovation.

unlike many other disciplines where "why?" is the focus
of the problem statement, the question "why not?" looms
large in the background of diffusion research. the processes
of adoption and diffusion do not easily lend themselves to universal
rules and in over half a century of attempting to answer the question
"why has adoption not occurred?" researchers
have developed numerous methods to try to understand the phenomena
involved.

diffusion models and perspectives

up until and into the 1970's, the classical diffusion model dominated
the diffusion literature. starting with gabriel tarde in 1903,
and continuing up through rogers' book communication of innovations
in 1971, the focus of diffusion research centered on the potential
adopter, and the process and rate of diffusion. these elements
comprised the classical diffusion model, as rogers later defined
it, whereby:

"...an innovation originates from some expert source (often
an r&d organization). this source then diffuses the innovation
as a uniform package to potential adopters who accept or reject
the innovation. the role of the adopter of the innovation is
that of a passive accepter" (rogers 1983:333).

while maintaining its spotlight on the adopter as the pivot around
which adoption evolves, the classical diffusion model concentrates
its efforts on defining the stages of the adoption process (knowledge,
persuasion, decision, confirmation); types of adopters (innovator,
early adopter, early majority, late majority and laggard) and
their characteristics; and the amount of time in which diffusion
occurs (rogers and shoemaker, 1971; rogers, 1983; and brown, 1981).

over the course of the last 50 years, many diverse disciplines
have looked at the subject from the perspective of the classical
model. development economists relate adoption and diffusion
to the adopter's credit availability (feder, 1980), land ownership
(ruttan, 1977) or farm size (weil, 1970 and binswanger, 1978);
sociologists relate adoption and diffusion to factors such as
the type of communication channels (rogers and svenning,1969),
or an individual's perception of an innovation's attributes (fleigel
and kivlin, 1966). everett rogers gives a summary of the generalizations
that could be found in the diffusion research literature to 1971
(see table 3). many of them are conflicting, leaving the question
"why has diffusion not occurred?" unanswered. starting
in the early 1970's, the classical diffusion model's relevance
to real-life situations began to be questioned, particularly as
concerned assumptions about an innovation's unchanging and complete
nature, the effectiveness of the model's centralized or hierarchical
direction, and its pro-innovation bias. (schon 1971, brown 1981,
and rogers, 1983, among others).

concerns were also raised in the 70s and 80s about equality issues.
according to lawrence a. brown (1981), the first decades of diffusion
research were undertaken from the traditional adoption perspective,
concentrating on the processes by which adoption occurs and the
factors related to effective flow of information. in brown's
view, because this perspective assumes that all potential adopters
have equal opportunity to adopt a given innovation, it concentrates
too much on an individual's characteristics, and not enough on
the socio-economic conditions within which an innovation is adopted
and diffused.

brown espoused a broader view, one which embraces the adoption
perspective, but which adds elements from a development perspective
(directing attention to the impact of innovation diffusion), an
economic history perspective (examining the innovation
as a continual process of adaptation), and a market-infrastructure
perspective [a supply side perspective which focuses on the
diffusion agency and the processes by which an innovation and
the conditions for adoption are made available to adopters (brown,
1981).]

other researchers also started looking at other possibilities
to explain the wide gap between adoption and non-adoption of innovations,
and some began to recognize a need for development of specific
promotional programs.

robert solo states that policies should be formulated in developing
countries which address promotional programs suited to the circumstances
of a particular technical change (solo, 1972). w. paul strassman
(1972) finds that though many technologies are transferred to
developing countries:

"the strategic core of knowledge (often) remains untransferred"
and "the participants' ability to understand, to adapt and
to persuade becomes the decisive factor in furthering or impeding
transfer of techniques." (strassman, 1972: p.13).

a decade later, brown also broaches the subject of promotion,
stating that the traditional two-step flow model (which singles
out opinion leaders for first communication efforts, and the general
populace for later efforts) may be less effective than one which
concentrates on marketing and promotional techniques. (brown,
1981). he also states that "diffusion agency actions are
manipulative variables" and that promotional communication
is an important part of the market-infrastructure perspective,
though he stops short of advocating more research on specific
promotional communication techniques.

attention to the idea of promotion became more predominant starting
with the development of social marketing. kotler and levy
(1969) were probably the first to suggest that commercial marketing
principles and the wealth of information gained by the marketing
field in many years of consumer research could be applied to social
movements and the diffusion of ideas and innovations for non-profit
causes as well.

"social marketing is the design, implementation, and control
of programs seeking to increase the acceptability of a social
idea or cause in a target group(s). it utilizes concepts of market
segregation, consumer research, concept development, communication,
facilitation, incentives, and exchange theory to maximize target
group response." (kotler, 1982: p. 490).

a number of field studies employing social marketing have been
carried out to date, though as fox and kotler (1980) note in their
early examination of social marketing in the 70's, its use presents
some problems with which commercial marketers have not had to
deal. its very nature of non-profitability means that social
marketing must deal with problems that are perhaps less often
present in the commercial world:

lack of a social marketing counterpart to various marketing
job functions,

smaller budgets for case-specific consumer research, and

smaller or non-existent financial returns on investment.

though the use of social marketing is not without its problems,
it undoubtedly played a role in helping diffusion researchers
to look at the processes of adoption and diffusion from another
perspective, since it recognizes that:

"the adoption of an idea, like the adoption of any product,
requires a deep understanding of the needs, perceptions, preferences,
reference groups, and behavioral patterns of the target audience,
and the tailoring of messages, media, "costs" and facilities
to maximize the ease of adopting the idea."(kotler, 1975:
p. 282).

other research looking specifically at promotion of innovations
is rare. among 103 generalizations in rogers 1971 summary of
diffusion research, covering hundreds of publications and authors,
no mention is made of specific techniques for the promotion of
innovations (see table 3). that trend seems to have continued:
to date, much of the small body of work dealing with particular
promotional techniques (outside of the field of education) concentrates
on specific case studies, offering few guidelines for generalized
use in diffusion.

in chapters 5 and 6, techniques for promoting radical innovations
will be discussed, and recommendations made for using these specific
promotional techniques to increase adoption and diffusion of solar
cooking and other radical innovations.

characteristics of earlier influence of sociological knowers factors
earlier knowers and legitimizers of collective
- educational level innovative-decisions and social
- individual innovativeness status
- social status of potential
adopters power elite functions in screening
- mass media innovations
- interpersonal channels
- change agent contact
- social participation
- cosmopoliteness
influence of communciation the innovation-decision channels process
type of communication channel and member acceptance of collective
the innovation-decision innovation-decision and degree of
process participation of social system
members in the decision
cosmopolite level of communication
channel and the member acceptance of collective
innovative-decision process innovation decisions and member
cohesion with social system
communciation channels and adopter
type individual acceptance of authority
innovation-decision and
cosmopolite level of communciation participation in decision-making
channel and adopter type
individual satisfaction of
effects of mass media channels authority innovation-decision and
coupled with interpersonal participation in decision-making
channels
individual dissoncance and change
functions in the of behavior/attitudes
innovation-decision process
rate of adoption of authority
interpersonal diffusion as innovation-decisions and different
homophilous diffusion approaches
homophilous interpersonal particpatory approach as compared
diffusion as related to to authority approach and changes
traditional/modern systems brought about
traditional/modern systems
relative to opinion leader
technical competence
rate of adoption miscellaneous
rate of adoption and innovations adoption vs.
- rate of awareness-knowledge discontinuance
- relative advantage of an idea
- compatibility of an idea innovation-decision stimulators and
- complexity of innvoation (4-3) cosmopoliteness
- trialability of innnovation
- observability of innovation initiators of collective
- degree of communication innovation-decisons vs.
integration legitimizers of decisons
rate of adoption related to
involvement of social system's
legitimizers in decision
rate of adoption of collective
innovations and power
concentration in a system

chapter 3: methodology

evaluation plan

in order to determine what degree of adoption of the sbc by the
treatment group (the workshop participants) had occurred, some
measure of sbc use by that group was needed. structured
interviews with participants were held for this purpose.

to determine whether or not and to what degree the technology
had diffused to other households, interviews were conducted with
randomly-chosen members of a community adjacent to that in which
the workshops were held. residents of this community had not
attended sbc workshops, so any sbc knowledge or information which
they might possess would most likely be ascribed to diffusion
of the idea from the treatment group.

the objective of the evaluation was, then, to gather data related
to the treatment group's opinions about sbcs; how often,
and for what sbcs are used in zimbabwe; what factors might
separate frequent users, non-users, and occasional users of sbcs
in zimbabwe; and possible technical, logistical and/or social-cultural
constraints to solar cooking and the use of sbcs in zimbabwe.
with this information, a determination of the degree of sbc
adoption and diffusion could then be made.

a secondary objective was to determine whether the promotional
efforts utilized were effective in that setting, so that recommendations
could be made for future efforts to promote solar cooking in general,
and in zimbabwe in particular. with the knowledge gained, general
recommendations for promotion of innovations could also be made.

interviews with the treatment group (workshop attenders)

in order to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the sbc
introduction project, it was necessary to measure the project's
impact on the treatment group (workshop attenders). this was
done by determining what percentage of the group became sbc
adopters and what degree of use that adoption represented. it
was also important to find out what the treatment group thought
of the solar box cooker, and whether the idea had diffused beyond
the group. interviews were used to meet this goal.

questionnaire development

a questionnaire (see appendix a), previously developed by sci
for evaluating the success of similar promotional workshops in
other countries, was used as the instrument around which the interviews
with zimbabwean participants were conducted. the questionnaire
consisted of 43 questions, mostly multiple choice. dependent
variables included:

adoption was defined as a decision by an individual to make use
of the sbc for cooking, and was determined chiefly by the
results of 2 questions (see questions 16 and 22). the degree
of use was not considered in defining adoption.

interviewers

in zimbabwe, interviews were conducted with both participants
and non-participants of the solar cooking workshops. the interviews
were performed by local high school-educated women, all of whom
spoke shona (the local dialect), as well as english.

interviewers were hired by plan's mutare office staff, and were
trained for the evaluation project by the plan mutare evaluation
coordinator, mr. stanley mashumba, and myself. a two-day training
session was held at the outset of the project and included role
playing, group discussion, instruction on interview techniques,
and a demonstration of solar cooking.

sampling

since the identities of all the participants of the original,
and subsequent, community workshops were known, a 100% sample
survey was targeted. using their own records, workshop organizers
and plan community development (cd) workers identified a total
of 171 workshop participants. with the help of plan mutare staff
and the cd workers, 155 participants, about 91%, were found and
interviewed. of the remaining sixteen, nine were said to have
moved out of the area, and seven could not be located.

a group of area residents who had not been participants in any
solar box cooking workshop were also interviewed. these 39 respondents
lived in a community adjacent to one in which several workshops
had been given. the community was comprised of several small
villages, and was chosen on the basis of its location (adjacent
to one of the workshop communities), its similar economic status,
its similar size, and its proximity to the same road which ran
through several of the workshop communities. a random number
n was generated, and workers conducted interviews at each
nth house, starting at n miles from the nearest
intersection to the plan office, and moving at a 45o angle to
the main road. it was decided that a comparison group size approximately
25% as large as the total participant group was easily obtainable,
and a total of 40 comparison households was targeted.

methods

interviewing workshop participants

during each day of interviewing, the survey team (plan evaluation
coordinator mr. stanley mashumba; 4 or 5 interviewers, depending
on the area to be surveyed; one of two plan drivers; and myself)
would drive to the area where an individual, or group of individuals,
lived. by asking questions at the village center or of passersby,
we would then locate the individual's home, where mr. mashumba
would explain our purpose, and ask the individual for an interview.
if the target individual agreed, mr. mashumba then introduced
her to the interviewer whose turn it was to conduct the survey,
and the rest of the team would go off in search of the next subject.
in making his request for an interview, mr. mashumba would request
that the person responsible for the majority of the household's
cooking be interviewed. in the vast majority of cases, the person
who had attended the workshop would be the main cook for a family,
but this was not always the case. if that person was unavailable,
the survey was administered to another woman of the household.

in some cases, the interviewers lived close to an area in which
a number of individuals from the target population lived. in
this case, they were able to make their rounds on foot and to
interview the target population independent of the survey team.

most of the time, target population individuals were located at
some distance from each other, and the team vehicle was needed
to find the house and obtain an interview. interviewers often
waited for an hour, sometimes more, to be picked up after completion
of each interview. several times, where a residence was located
very far into the backcountry, we found it more efficient to wait
for the interviewer to complete the interview before travelling
to the next location.

from conversations with the interviewers, the average interview
seems to have taken approximately 30 to 90 minutes. later, the
interviewers became more familiar with the questionnaire, and
30 minutes became the norm.

a total of 194 respondents in the mutare district were interviewed
for this study, including a comparison group of 39 people randomly
selected for interviewing from a community where solar workshops
had not previously occurred. all interviews were conducted in
shona, the first language of both the interviewers and the respondents.
answers were recorded by the interviewer in english on
the questionnaire sheet. each interviewer was thus responsible
for translation, at the site, of the responses.

interviews were conducted with the person responsible for food
preparation and cooking in each household. when that person was
not available, the survey was administered to another woman of
the household, or to a member of the household familiar with the
household's solar box cooker. though no specific data were gathered
relative to workshop attendance, in most cases the workshop attender
and the person responsible for the houshold's cooking were one
and the same.

figures 7 and 8 following are photographs of 1989/90 workshop
participants with their sbcs, taken during the 1992 interviews.
figures 9 and 10 show a typical interview setting.

figures 7 and 8: sbc owners at interviews

figures 9 and 10: typical interview setting, early evening

during the course of the interviews, and in 3 weeks of subsequent
travel around the country, i had opportunity to make additional
observations related to the evaluation by:

conversing with some of the participants after their interviews
had been completed in an attempt to independently verify what
they had stated in their interview -- for example, whether they
used their sbc frequently.

noting and taking photographs of the environmental conditions
present in the countryside of the areas we visited for interviews,

talking to other community members, as well as to many other
people i met in my travels, who asked me what i was doing in zimbabwe,
and jotting notes of those conversations,

reading plan mutare reports and talking to plan staff (see following
section) about the types of problems present in the mutare district,

talking to plan staff about their experiences with the introduction
of sbcs, and their own perceptions (and use) of solar cooking.

table 4 summarizes the sources of data and information gathered
during the course of the evaluation.

a group of plan mutare community development workers attended
(per mr. mashumba's request) the morning session of the first
day of interviewer training at rowa in order to allow me an opportunity
to talk to them about their experiences with solar cooking. i
spoke individually to each of the twelve (5 women, 7 men) present,
taking notes. none had done any formal promotion of solar box
cookers since the 1990 workshops.

interviewers

except for one woman in her 30's, the interviewers were all under
25 years of age, and none of them had never seen or heard of solar
cooking. because of that fact, i was interested in their perceptions
of the technology and encouraged them to tell me what they, as
people who had never tried to solar cook, thought of the technology.
in the interviewer training, and later after they had interviewed
a number of people, therefore, i asked them their impressions.
over the course of the evaluation, their opinions changed in
an interesting way. (see chapter 4, p. 67).

data processing of interview responses

responses for the interview data (taken from the interviewer-completed
questionnaires) were coded manually, using pre-selected numbers
to represent each choice of answer. volunteered answers to open-ended
questions were coded based on pre-determined categories, with
additional categories added as necessary. frequency distributions
were then plotted (spss release 4.0) for different categories
of response.

chapter 4: results and data

the purpose of this research was to evaluate the 1989 sbc
introduction project in zimbabwe to determine the degree of adoption
and diffusion of solar box cooking. to that end, interviews with
workshop participants were conducted to measure adoption. results
of these interviews show that most respondents (over 80%) can
be said to have adopted the technology to the extent that they
are using their sbc at least some of the time. (the degree
of this adoption will be addressed later in this section, and
in the following chapter.)

diffusion of solar cooking, on the other hand, does not seem to
have occurred to any observable extent. the reasons for this
conclusion will be addressed later in this chapter, and in succeeding
chapters.

the interview instrument consisted of 43 questions related to
adoption of sbcs by respondents, respondents' background and environment,
respondents' cooking and eating practices, fuel availability,
respondents' familiarity and experience with sbcs, and
respondents' perceptions of sbcs. it was anticipated that
results of the interviews would provide information on specific
obstacles to sbc adoption in the mutare district of zimbabwe.

in order to provide a context for interpretation of survey results,
background data obtained from respondents is also presented.

respondent background data

to discover what obstacles might exist to the adoption of solar
cooking in zimbabwe, it is first necessary to establish whether
the potential for using an sbc exists within the zimbabwean daily
eating and cooking regime -- that is, to determine whether a solar
cooker:

- is usable with respect to zimbabwean eating times and habits,
and

- is equal to, or greater than (with respect to fuel savings,
ease of cooking, or any other benefit) the potential adopter's
current cooking method.

tables 5 and 6 furnish information to start answering these questions,
and provide background information on the respondents in both
the treatment and comparsion groups, furnishing descriptive data
on respondents' environments, cooking fuel use, fuel supply problems,
and cooking/eating practices. though representing different communities,
the two groups had similar backgrounds: both were represented
by women (86-95%), ages distributed relatively equally from 20
to 50 plus. in both the treatment and comparison groups, most
of the respondents were from families of average (for that area)
income, though both lower and higher income families were also
represented. median family size for both groups was 6-7 people,
though smaller and larger families were also represented. most
respondents obtained their cookers by building them in the introductory
workshops, one third of them stating that they had difficulty
in building them.

as can be seen, the majority of respondents are home during most
of the day, most of them have a spot near their house which is
sunny for a large part of the day, and most find that the hardest
part of cooking is the shortage of fuel. more than three quarters
of the families from both groups preferred to eat cooked food
at all 3 of their daily meals (table 6).

despite the preference or custom for cooking most meals, however,
most respondents (ranging from 70% - 87%) do not have a special
stove for cooking and employ a hearth (3-stone) method (table
7). the large majority use wood almost exclusively as their cooking
fuel (88% vs. 100%), and many (72% vs. 56%) list the scarcity
of fuel and the need to spend time gathering it as their main
fuel problems.

of interest in this research was the question of whether a potential
adopter's background and environment helped or hindered the adoption
of solar cooking: in particular, whether or not a shortage of
options regarding cooking fuel increased the adoption of solar
cooking. results show that most respondents found the cost of
wood -- in both money and labor spent to gather it -- to have
risen over the year previous to the survey (see figure 11). over
one quarter of those surveyed spend at least one hour per day
gathering fuel for cooking, and among their fuel problems, over
70% of respondents listed scarcity, 50% listed time and distance
for gathering wood, and 30% listed expense as critical problems
(see figure 12).

figure 11: cost increases for cooking fuel

figure 12: fuel problems

these results indicate that if sbc adoption is less extensive
than otherwise expected, it should not be ascribed to the absence
of need for an alternate method of cooking. on the contrary,
in this case one would expect there to be a significant percentage
of adoption, based on the critical shortage of firewood for cooking.

data from the interviews were tabulated in frequency tables and
graphs. the frequency of responses to each question is indicated
by percent (%) responding in the summary graphs which follow
in the next section. results are presented in 3 sections: adoption
of sbcs and patterns of current use, profile of user experience
with/perception of sbcs, and diffusion. (note:
since none of the individuals from the comparison group had any
experience with sbcs, data related to experience were inapplicable
for that group and will therefore not be found in this section.)

interview results

adoption of sbcs and patterns of current use

with respect to adoption and patterns of current sbc use,
survey results contain both positive and negative news for the
prospects of sbcs in zimbabwe. on the negative side, 52%
of respondents said they used their cooker less frequently
in 1992 than they had in 1991. on the positive side however,
82% of respondents said they still used their cooker sometimes,
with 71% asserting that they used it most sunny days (see
table 8 and figure 13).

in this study, adoption was defined a decision to use the sbc,
to any degree, for cooking, and was determined mainly by the
results of two interview questions: "if you have ever tried
to cook in a solar cooker yourself what was your experience?"
and "how often do you solar cook?" (see questions 16
and 22). by this definition, 82% of the treatment group can be
said to have adopted, to some extent, solar cooking.

table 8: sbc adoption

workshop participants adoptiontried once or twice/used for
awhile, didn't like it: 3%
liked it, but don't use anymore: 15%
still using sometimes: 82%
frequency of use most sunny days: 71%
several days/month: 22%
several days/year: 5%
frequency of use compared more: 27%
to last year less: 52%
same: 20%

figure 13: respondents' present usage of sbcs

explanation for this magnitude of adoption, notwithstanding its
broad definition, may be at least partially related to fact that
99% of respondents found that using their sbc saved them
fuel. seventy-seven percent also reported saving time and work
(see figure 14).

figure 14: perceptions of saving fuel

as shown in figure 15, a wide variety of foods were, or had been,
at least experimentally, if not regularly, solar-cooked by a large
number of individuals in the treatment group. most respondents
also report that solar cooking is "nice because (they) don't
need to watch or stir" (see figure 16). results of these
questions help corroborate the adoption of sbcs by the
target group, though as will be seen in the next chapter, alternative
explanations for the magnitude of that adoption are also possible.

figure 15: foods cooked with sbcs

figure 16: opinions regarding slower cooking

other questions related to respondents' current use of sbcs
were intended to determine if any knowledge/technique problems
they may have experienced were related to a decision not
to adopt. figure 17 shows the results of an interview question
concerning respondents' customary starting time for solar cooking:
results show that a majority of respondents are (properly) putting
food in to cook by or before mid-morning.

figure 17: factors related to success of cooking

nearly all respondents indicate that they often worry about the
weather when solar cooking (figure 17). this worry may affect
sbc adoption rate in mutare district in two ways: unpredictable
rains, clouds, or duststorms may interrupt solar cooking, leading
to decreased success for those who attempt it on the wrong days,
and/or the fear of bad weather and the risk associated
with spoiling food, may prevent an sbc user from using the cooker
on an otherwise appropriate day.

profile of user experience with, and perception of sbcs

an important part of treatment group interviews was the gathering
of information related to user experience with, and perception
of sbcs. one significant piece of information sought was
the exact type of solar cooking problems the group had experienced,
and whether those problems negated the user's perception of sbcs
as otherwise useful and advantageous.

results (figure 18) show that many individuals did experience
some problems in cooking, and that they could (when asked as part
of the interview) list a variety of disadvantages. the single
most important problem experienced by sbc users seems to
have been undercooking, reported by 42% of respondents. overcooking,
by comparison, was seldom reported (1% of respondents). 8% of
respondents reported poor taste or texture of some foods they
had solar cooked (see figure 18).

figure 18: problems with solar cooking, and related reasons

among the stated disadvantages (figure 19), 53% of respondents
listed the need for special equipment (dark pots), 29% that the
fact that the box wears out and/or requires maintenance, 24% the
fact that cooking takes too long, and 14% the fact that cooking
at night (the usual cooking time for the evening meal) is not
possible.

figure 19: disadvantages found

respondents were also asked about any problems they may have had
that were specifically related to the sbc itself, as opposed
to problems with its use. table 9 shows those results: 9% had
problems with cooker wear and tear, 5% experienced problems with
broken glass, and 5% had problems related to sbc response to weather,
sunlight and regular (non-dark) cooking pots.

in a related question, respondents were asked if they had found
solutions to any problems. though relatively few respondents
replied affirmatively, 6% reported repairing and/or strengthen
their sbcs (table 10). moreover, 31% of respondents found
alternate uses for their sbcs (see table 11), including heating
water for bathing, storing food and utensils, heating an iron,
and making floor polish.

table 10: problems for which solutions were found

question # 36: repair/maintenance of box: 3 %
were there any problems strengthening of box: 3
you found solutions increasing insulation: 1
for? learning to set for maximum sunlight: 1
using metal hinges: 1
16% responded "yes" watching sbc more closely: 1
suggested solutions which could not be
implemented because of expense: 3
other, unexplained "yes": 3

most respondents also recognized positive elements in solar cooking,
and almost all were able to list numerous kinds of food that they
had successfully solar-cooked, including food from nearly every
major type eaten in the area. 43% listed meat, poultry and fish
as foods which cooked well in their sbc, and 31% also listed
grains (mainly rice) and bread as successfully cooked foods (see
figure 20). as can be seen, the frequency with which each type
of food is solar cooked is roughly proportionate to the success
respondents have had in cooking it. (see also figure 15.)

figure 20: foods which cook best using sbc

most respondents agreed that sbcs were advantageous in
numerous ways, with savings of time and fuel listed by 93% of
respondents, and flavor and convenience by 74% (see figure 21).
under "additional comments" respondents offered advantages
such as the need for less water in washing pots; heating water
for bathing; keeping food warm, and the sbc's usefulness
as a place to store food.

figure 21: advantages of solar cooking

survey results related to respondent experience and perception
also show the type of features respondents found most different
from their usual cooking method in terms of sbc use: this
gives an indication of some of the factors which may present obstacles
to widespread sbc use in zimbabwe. of note is the fact
that 53% found the use of "special pots" to be an important
difference, perhaps because of the cost concerns associated with
having to buy "special equipment (see figure 22). 18% found
the cooked food itself to be different, although only 8% described
the food as poor in taste or texture. however, these perceived
differences could be significant to some sbc users in their contrast
to promotional information, which describes sbcs as easy
to use, low cost, and able to cook nearly anything.

dark pots

figure 22: differences noted by sbc users

in an attempt to find out more about respondents' perceptions
of their sbc, one interview question offered respondents some
choices for describing their cooker. table 12 shows that most
respondents chose adjectives which were positive (durable 36%,
easy to carry 62%, attractive 34%) as opposed to negative (flimsy
9%, immoveable 1%, unattractive 2%). one pair of words (too light
45% / too heavy 11%) did not offer a positive choice.

respondents were also asked the main reasons that they did not
use their cookers on sunny days, for those days when they did
not, and what would help them in trying again. figure 23 illustrates
those results: 21% gave reasons for not using their cookers on
some sunny days: 7% of respondents had broken cookers, 3% did
not have a cooker, 2% said the cooker was too hard to use, 2%
said it didn't cook right, and 3% said that cooking outside was
a problem. no one claimed to need more information and no one
had problems finding a sunny spot to cook near their home.

all respondents said they would try again, saying that recipes,
cooking demos, affordable cookers, and parts for repair would
help.

figure 23: reasons sbc not used on all sunny days

diffusion of solar cooking technology

although almost 90% of respondents said they told others about
solar cooking and over 65% told at least 10 others (see figure
24), nevertheless there seemed to be little direct or indirect
evidence that the decision to use solar cooking was made by anyone
other than treatment group individuals. no sign of diffusion
of sbc use into adjacent communities or households was
observed, and no solar cookers outside of the respondents' were
noticed during the course of the study, however as mentioned previously,
respondents and their neighbors were often separated by long distances,
limiting opportunities for informal observation of neighboring
households.

figure 24: diffusion potential

figure 25 shows the results related to treatment group individuals'
perceptions about the existence of other sbc owners, and how often
those owners use their cooker. as can be seen, though half the
group surmises that all owners use their cooker at least some
of the time, the other half feels that various percentages of
owners (ranging from all other owners to 25% of other owners)
do not use their cooker at all.

figure 25: respondents' awareness of other sbc owners and
users

figure 26 outlines the reasons respondents give for why other
sbc owners don't use their solar cookers. the most common answers
were variations on 2 themes: that sbcs are a new idea to which
people haven't yet adapted (15%) and that the slowness of solar
cooking gets in the way of easy use (19%). there were many other
suggestions, however, and table 13 lists some of the comments
which were generated by 57% of the treatment group: their comments
may also provide some insight as to why they themselves do not
use their own cookers more often.

figure 26: why don't others use their sbcs more often?

table 13: other ideas about why others don't use their cookers
more

"some people have to be away during the day."
"because of the large numbers in families."
"there is no food (to cook)."
"they may just be too lazy."
"some don't have the right kind of food to cook in there; some don't
have the time to attend to the cooker."
"lack of food; a matter of ignorance."
"maybe they have other fuel."
"some forget they have a cooker; they underestimate."
"maybe they have a lot of wood; it needs special attention, otherwise a
goat may cause breakage of glass."
"sometimes no time to wait for the food to get cooked."
"lack of interest and failing to set it properly."
"some people may not be able to use it properly."
"the time of cooking and time when the sun is hot contradict."
"people did not get enough training concerning the setting of the
cooker, some people never put this cooker in the right position and to
them it does not work."
"some people need hot foods, so they have to use wood."
"may not have suitable utensils."
"our culture cannot allow us to leave the food on its own because of
the bewitching of each other which exists."
"some will be doing their (other) jobs like watering the garden."
"it might be wind."
"they will be at work and can only use it on weekends."
"we don't have suitable pots, the ones we have are very thick to
absorb."
"time consuming -- they will be rushing for work."
"it is difficult to preplan for most people."
"some don't have sunny areas at their home; some yards not fenced so
that domestic animals can get it easily; also because they are just
used to fire."
"some people only cook foods like sadza."

a formal survey is needed to clarify the issue of why, considering
the large numbers of family, neighbors and friends who should
have heard about the solar cooker from the respondents, there
is no sign of diffusion of the technology beyond the limited group
of workshop participants. treatment group individuals themselves
furnish some clues while providing their own perceptions regarding
why other people do not build cookers. by far the
most common answer for this question was associated with the cost
of building a solar box. fifty-one percent of all respondents
speculated that the cost of the building materials was the hindering
factor. twenty-seven percent felt that the lack of help for building
an sbc was important, 19% percent said that the difficulty
of obtaining materials played a role, and 5% said that people
didn't build sbcs because they didn't know about them (see
figure 27).

figure 27: reasons others don't build cookers

informal interviews

another source of information relative to solar cooking in zimbabwe
were my discussions with plan community development workers and
with the interviewers who carried out the survey.

community development workers

my conversations with plan cd workers were enlightening on two
fronts: placed as they are in a situation where they are simultaneously
of the community and also to some extent answerable to it through
their work with a community development organization, their perspective
is unique. on the one hand, they are users of the technology,
having built their own sbc in a workshop, and as such,
they have personal opinions regarding its utility. on the other
hand, they were part of a program to disseminate information about
sbcs, and therefore have an advantageous vantage point with regards
to adoption and diffusion of the sbc in the study area.

all 12 of the plan mutare community development (cd) workers independently
chose cooking fuel scarcities and/or time
spent gathering wood and the disappearance of trees
as the main reasons for interest in solar cooking for residents
of their communities. the cd workers were enthusiastic about
solar cooking in general, but had a number of reservations about
its immediate possibilities in zimbabwe. said one:

"people are ready (to build sbcs) if they have the
materials: this area is deforested -- but where are they going
to get money to build solar box cookers? and who is going to
train them?"

most of the cd workers echoed the concerns about training and
education. one stated:

"solar boxes are good to use: (it's) only that most people
in the communal areas are illiterate and they really need education.
if the exercise of making the cookers was done continuously,
i foresee more people being interested in using them."

another cd worker continued:

"this is a very good, and simple and inexpensive way of cooking,
but for the people of remote or rural areas: they need assistance
in getting the materials for building the sbc and a training in
building them."

asked what advice he would give to groups wanting to promote solar
cooking, another worker recommended:

"make them out of durable materials."

nearly all the cd workers spoke of the difficulties of finding
building materials, especially glass and foil, and several mentioned
the fact that sbcs are not durable.

asked about their own use of solar box cookers , four of the twelve
cd workers said that they used their own cooker for demonstrations
only; three used it only occasionally; and five used it most sunny
days during the solar cooking season.

interviewers

at the beginning of training, all five interviewers expressed
skepticism that a cardboard box could cook. however, as they
conducted more interviews and heard testimonials to the sbc's
soundness as a method of cooking, the interviewers all began to
ask questions. by the time 3 weeks of interviewing had passed,
all were convinced of their utility, and wanted to build one.
one had even saved the foil wrappings from our boxed lunches
so that she wouldn't have to worry about finding foil for her
solar box cooker. it was a small but interesting example of the
acceptance of an idea after repeated encounters.

summary of results

as presented in this chapter, the results of interviews indicate
that some degree of solar cooking adoption occurred with a large
majority (over 80%) of respondents. diffusion of the technology
beyond the original workshop participants, however, was not observed,
despite the probable transfer of the idea itself. the next chapter
will examine these results and offer some possibilities for their
interpretation.

chapter 5: discussion of results

the purpose of this research was to measure the degree of solar
box cooker adoption attributable to an sbc introduction
project consisting of an initial large workshop subsequently followed
by several smaller workshops, and to assess whether that technology
had diffused to nearby areas where workshops had not been held.

earlier, adoption was defined as a decision by an individual to
make use, to any degree, of their sbc for cooking. results
have shown that 82% of respondents in the treatment group are
using their sbcs to some degree. this percentage is probably
somewhat inflated however, and may reflect a problem with self-reporting
in a situation where verification through independent observation
was not possible. the adoption rate of 82% does not appear to
represent frequent, so much as occasional or intermittent sbc
use: in response to the question "how often do you solar
cook?" 70% of the treatment group asserted that they used
their cooker "most sunny days". yet to question # 20
("compared to last year, do you use a solar cooker more,
less or about as often"), 52% of the treatment group answered
"less". this somewhat contradictory information
might also be related to the ambiguity of the questions (i.e.,
did the respondents mean they used their sbcs fewer
hours per day this year rather than fewer days per year?
did respondents understand "sunny" to mean exclusively
hot and bright summer days, as opposed to merely bright, but cool?
if the latter, at what temperature did the respondent consider
the weather to be too cool to solar cook?), or it may also simply
indicate an unwillingness to express dislike of the sbc (see
table 14).

other possible interpretations of results may be suggested (see
table 14). one possiblity is that in the time immediately following
the building of their solar cookers, many respondents used the
cooker to some degree every day, as opposed to the year of the
survey when regular solar cooking may have stabilized at some
lesser degree of use. weather may have also played a part: some
respondents commented that they used the cooker less often since
there was less food to cook. as can be seen, problems associated
with respondents' self-reporting, as well as the wording of several
of the survey questions and suggested answers make an exact determination
of adoption percentage difficult. further research is needed
to clarify this important question to arrive at an estimate of
the actual degree of adoption of solar cooking in zimbabwe.

it seems certain however, that some degree of solar cooking adoption
has occurred and though information to quantify adoption may be
lacking, qualitative findings related to user experience and perception
are not.

table 14: other possible interpretations of adoption results

workshop possible alternate participants interpretations current use tried once or twice/used unwillingness to express
(question # for dislike of the sbc.
16) awhile, didn't like it: 3%
don't use sbc as much since
liked it, but less food to cook this
don't use anymore: 15% year.
still using sometimes: 82%
frequency most sunny days: 71% misinterpretation (by
of solar respondents) of "sunny" to
cooking several days/month: 22% mean "hot" or "hot and
(question # bright" when only sunlight
22) several days/year: 5% (not high ambient
temp-erature) is required
for solar cooking.
"most sunny days" means
respondent would use on
most sunny days if the
(weather, drought, etc.)
allowed?
frequency more: 27% "more" refers to "more
of use days/yr", "more hrs/day" or
compared less: 52% "more types of foods"
to last depending on the
year same: 20% respondent.
(question #
20)

survey results related to user experience and perception show
that the treatment group had a wide variety of problems with solar
cooking, ranging from broken glass to undercooking of food to
weather problems and timing of meals. at the same time, however,
many also found solutions to those problems they encountered,
and some discovered new uses for their solar cooker. in addition,
many individuals in the treatment group found solar cooked food
to be both "flavorful" and "convenient", and
almost all agreed that time and fuel were saved with its use.

in spite of this, and in spite of zimbabwe's suitable climate
and increasing problems with firewood shortages -- and the fact
that most individuals already had a solar cooker to use -- it
seems clear that few respondents perceive solar energy as a main
source of cooking fuel. why?

as was seen earlier, interview results indicate that worries about
weather and the undercooking of food, the need for special equipment
(dark pots) and sbc maintenance, and fears of poisoning
are some of the respondents' concerns. thus, the risk associated
with using sbcs seems to be a key factor in respondents'
perception of solar cooking. this may be especially true in drought
years (as was the case during the years previous to the survey),
when the usual sources of food have disappeared and even the traditional
"innovator" would be hesitant to use a dubious or uncertain
new technology. whether the risks are tenable or not, their perception
by potential adopters will doubtless greatly influence the degree
of adoption, and the need for a promotional technique which addresses
them becomes criticial to the success of an introduction program.
addressing perceived risks through the use of multiple introductions
is discussed in the next chapter.

despite the fact that most respondents told others, ranging from
a handful of others to hundreds, about solar cooking, there was
no verifiable sign of diffusion of sbc use to a comparison
group located in an adjacent community of similar demographics
and environmental features. several factors may be responsible
for the lack of diffusion: first, a very pragmatic consideration
is that most of the homes in both the treatment group study area
and the adjacent comparison community were well separated from
their neighbors. if diffusion works best where an innovation
is easily viewed and frequently observed, it seems likely that
it would take a much longer time for even the awareness of the
existence of sbcs to diffuse to an adjacent community.

secondly, any member of a nearby household or adjacent community
who might have heard about sbcs and become interested in
owning one would have had to find the components herself, whereas
individuals in the treatment group had access, through attending
a workshop, to everything they needed -- including instruction.
the workshops, moreover, provided materials to participants at
a fraction of their cost. when materials costs for non-workshop
participants are added to the cost of special cooking pots, the
risk associated with the cost of owning an sbc may become
too great for many otherwise-interested individuals -- even despite
the fact that it might pay for itself (in saved cooking fuel)
in a relatively short time. considering the potential risks associated
with wasting resources to build a box which might not work, it
is not really surprising that diffusion is not in evidence.

finally and probably most important, if the adopters themselves
are using their own sbcs only intermittently or sporadically,
it is unlikely that diffusion of the idea to another community
would occur: an incomplete adoption by the treatment group in
all likelihood indicates that they have not completely accepted
the idea of solar cooking. the question then becomes one of determining
why sbcs have not been completely accepted by those who
partially adopt them. it is apparent that methods related to
sbc introduction projects must be examined, particularly
as concerns introductory workshops: it seems likely that a single
workshop is not sufficient for demonstrating the utility of an
sbc to potential adopters, nor does it allow for taking into account
the complexity of the innovation and the social system and environment
in which it must function.

the next chapter presents a framework for additional interpretation
of the solar cooking situation in zimbabwe and elsewhere, and
offers recommendations for future sbc promotional work
in the country.

chapter 6: conclusions and recommendations

although the 82% adoption rate obtained in interviewing the treatment
group is questionable and probably excessively high considering
the self-reporting issues and question ambiguity discussed in
the last chapter, there is still reason for optimism with respect
to the future of sbcs in zimbabwe. the constraints to
sbc use which were identified by informal observation and
conversation with respondents were conspicuous and significant
(summarized in table 16), but none of them seems totally insurmountable,
and some observations (table 15) were positive with respect to
the potential future of sbcs in zimbabwe:

table 15: positive observations relative to sbc use in zimbabwe

zimbabweans seem receptive to the idea of solar
cooking.
most of the cookers made are still in use some of the
time.
the climate of zimbabwe is well-suited to solar
cooking.
materials for constructing solar boxes are available
in-country.
a solar industry already exists, to some extent, in
zimbabwe.

considering the above, changes in the promotional methods used
for sbc introduction projects might significantly increase
sbc adoption, particularly the degree of use, by providing
information and techniques for addressing the constraints which
exist with respect to solar cooking in zimbabwe. the most important
change is to implement multiple introduction.

multiple introduction

as mentioned previously, a single promotional workshop may be
insufficient for introducing a complex innovation, especially
if it does not first take into account the specific social system
and the environment in which the innovation must function: the
use of solar cooking in an area where the tradition is to cook
with fire demands a major change in thinking on the part of the
potential adopter, as well as a drastic change in cooking custom
and daily routine. innovations which demand such a change in
routine or custom, hereafter referred to as radical innovations,
may require a different type of promotional method, one that can
overcome not only the socio-economic, cultural and logistical
obstacles associated with the adoption of any innovation, but
also the additional constraints connected with the need for changes
in routine. all other factors being equal, successfully adopted
radical innovations may include an element which is lacking in
the case of unsuccessful ones: multiple introductions. a promotion
incorporating multiple introduction would include 4 phases:

the initial introduction,

a structured follow-up,

adaptation (re-invention) of the innovation, and

(at least one) re-introduction.

following an initial introduction, a follow-up would be performed
to pinpoint real or potential problems which could interfere with
long term use or widespread adoption of the innovation. adaptation,
or re-invention, of the innovation could then occur, improving
on the original design and allowing a subsequent re-introduction
to succeed. this process may be particularly important where
social or cultural constraints (for example) have not been taken
into account in the design of the original introduction project
-- which may often be the case with radical innovations.

radical innovations

in simple terms, the adoption of an innovation is a question of
constraints vs. utility. for those who eventually adopt an innovation,
the utility end of the balance weighs more than the constraint
end -- that is, the adopter has managed to overcome enough constraints
to make use of the innovation worthwhile. a radical innovation,
however, has the additional constraint of requiring a significant
adjustment in routine or custom. for example, successful solar
box cooking requires that food be put into the cooker hours before
it will be eaten, necessitating early morning to early afternoon
meal planning, a significant change from cooking over a fire minutes
before mealtime. in many cases, the requirement for such an adjustment
in daily routine may be just enough of a factor to tip an adoption
decision to the constraint side, resulting in non-adoption or
discontinuance of an otherwise appropriate innovation. multiple
introduction, which provides opportunities for potential adopters
to both find a way around obstacles as well as to recognize the
potential benefits of an innovation, might tip the balance back
the other way. the case study represented by the introduction
of sbcs in zimbabwe illustrates how the constraints associated
with a radical innovation may prohibit its eventual adoption and
diffusion: considering the risks, problems and necessary change
of routine associated with building and using a solar box cooker,
it is not surprising that signs of widespread adoption and diffusion
are not in evidence. following is a summary of the constraints
found through this evaluation, with recommendations for using
multiple introduction to address them.

constraints associated with use of sbcs in zimbabwe

observations i made through 7 weeks of working and travelling
in zimbabwe reinforce what the results of interviews show with
regards to the solar cooking situation in the mutare district.
as with the interview results, some of these observations pinpoint
serious problems with sbc use in zimbabwe:

materials are scarce and expensive: strong cardboard is
difficult to find in zimbabwe. aluminum foil was available in
mutare's grocery stores, but was not evident in smaller towns'
markets where i looked for it. the same is true of white glue.
sheet metal for use in the bottom of the box was found in a metal
market in mutare, but there was little of it, and it was expensive.
black chalkboard paint for painting the sheet metal was available
in mutare, but is scarce outside of the larger towns. glass was
the most difficult item to obtain, and the single most expensive
item of the materials needed for building a solar box. though
several stores in mutare had window glass, it is almost impossible
to obtain outside of a large town, and the cost is prohibitive
for many people.

the total cost of building materials, not including the cardboard,
which was given to me by plan mutare, was approximately $20.
this represents 15 - 25% of the average yearly income of women
who have an income, most of which probably derives from bartering
and selling miscellaneous items in the market.

sadza is difficult to cook in a solar box cooker: sadza,
the staple of the zimbabwean diet, is a type of corn meal mush
which is traditionally cooked over fire, the bubbling mixture
requiring nearly constant stirring. there has been limited success
with cooking sadza in an sbc, though it is possible to
make a close facsimile. the fact that sadza cannot be solar-cooked
seems to have caused some people to avoid using their sbc
on a regular basis.

glass breakage is common, difficult to remedy: though
it was not a specific interview question, many people told of
broken glass being a problem in solar cooking. goats are responsible
for many of the breaks, climbing/kicking on the glass to get at
the food which they see or smell. once the glass has broken,
little can be done in a rural area, even if money were available,
to repair it.

misunderstanding/misinformation and incorrect use are common:
numerous respondents stated that they were not presently using
their cooker because "it (is) winter, and therefore too cold".
though it was indeed winter, and though drought conditions prevailed,
with cool mornings and rapidly dropping temperatures at sunset,
on most days the temperature rose to the high-70's/high 80's by
noon, and, more importantly, the sun shone all day, making for
perfect solar cooking weather.

there also seemed to be an impression that solar box cookers are
designed to function as substitutes for other cooking fuels.
this erroneous impression may cause some people to avoid using
the sbc altogether when its limitations (related to time,
weather, maintenance, etc.) are discovered.

the sbcs in use are not being used to their full extent:
there was little indication that people were using their sbc
as a supplement to other methods of cooking. for example, sadza
for the evening or mid-day meal can be quickly cooked over fire
after using an sbc during the day to cook the meat or stew
which generally accompanies sadza. i saw and heard no evidence
that this occurred, though it would have been the ideal way to
use an sbc for zimbabwean cuisine.

the distance factor makes diffusion difficult: the areas
where members of the treatment group live are very rural, and
very separated. in locations like these, where neighbors do not
often see each other, it is likely that diffusion of the idea
will be limited and the opportunity for the exchange necessary
for transfer of information -- or social pressure -- will not
often occur.

reluctance to build sbcs without cost-subsidizing: many
people asked when more workshops would be given so that their
family or friends could also make a solar box: when asked why
they did not just build an sbc, most stated that they could
not afford the materials. it seems likely, therefore, that the
desire for workshops is at least partly related to sbc
subsidies rather than a sole desire for information. some stated
that they would prefer to go to a plan workshop because they would
get better instruction there than from an individual.

the gender tug-of-war: new-technology (men's arena) vs. cooking
and food preparation (women's arena): in a conversation i
had with dr. jeremy ascough and mr. garikai bajaba of the university
of zimbabwe, one of the problems discussed was that of gender.
as dr. ascough explained, new technologies in zimbabwe are in
the purview of men; cooking and food preparation belong exclusively
to women, and where the two come together, there may be problems.

dr. ascough felt that in the case of sbcs, where there
is overlap in gender spheres of influence, what may happen is
that men (though they do not traditionally concern themselves
with cooking) may become interested in the new technology and
claim it for themselves. indeed, i talked to several men who
had built a cooker in a workshop, and who stated that they did
not permit their wives to use it.

mr. bajaba contended that many men had little interest in the
problems their wives had in finding fuel (or the money to buy
it) for cooking. the perception, he told me, is that as long
as hot meals still appear, there is obviously still wood available
to be gathered, in the same way that if one turns on the tap during
a drought and gets running water then "a water shortage must
not be a problem."

when asked if the men do not, though they may have little empathy
for the walking distances and hours required of women and children
to find fuelwood, realize that the shortage of fuel will eventually
affect them as well, mr. ascough replied that one man told him

"when there is not enough wood available to cook a meal,
i will marry another woman who can find wood further away as my
first wife cooks for me."

cultural limitations: some respondents told of missing
the insect-repellent qualities of having a fire burning near the
house. several complained, as well, about the absence of the
proper "smokey" taste, though that complaint was not
common. a more frequent comment was that of missing the warmth
of a fire near the house, and of not being able to bake bread
at night. several people mentioned feeling insecure about leaving
their food out where an enemy might poison it. one older woman
said that solar cooking was "unnatural", and went against
god. another common complaint was related to visitors. zimbabweans,
especially those in rural areas, must travel long distances to
visit with friends and family, and, in the absence of phone lines
and telephones, may drop in unexpectedly to visit. numerous people,
as well as the interviewers responding to my questions regarding
their thoughts on the sbc, told me that a big drawback
of the sbc was its inability to cook fast enough so that
visitors could be greeted with a meal.

the solar box cooker as radical innovation

the switch from a cultural tradition where the cooking fire is
a social hub to one where it is completely replaced by a solar
box cooker is probably as undesirable as it is unlikely. a solar
box cooker can neither completely supplant other cooking fuels,
nor will it substitute (for many reasons) as a social gathering
place. yet some change in cooking methods is clearly inevitable,
as increasing deforestation in zimbabwe leads rapidly to a time
when there will no longer be any choice in the matter.

efforts to introduce the technology of solar cooking have succeeded
in demonstrating to numerous individuals how solar cooking might
be a desirable option in their lives, but diffusion of the practice
from early adopters to additional individuals is wanting. regular
use of solar cooking by adopters in zimbabwe is lacking as well.

solar box cookers seem to have a great deal of potential for mitigating
problems of health and environment, but there are serious constraints
to their use in certain cultural, geographical, and/or economic
landscapes. observations and interviews have identified some
of the important constraints to the use of sbcs in zimbabwe,
which help explain why regular use of the solar cooker and diffusion
of the technology have not occurred.

table 16: summary of identified constraints to sbc
use in zimbabwe

culturallogisticalsocio-economic
the staple food in materials are scarce. materials are
zimbabwe (sadza) is expensive.
difficult to cook in
sbc.
gender tug-of-war: more training needed: reluctance to build
new technology (men's misunderstanding/misinf sbcs without
arena) vs. cooking & ormation/incorrect use cost-subsidizing.
food preparation are common, sbcs in
(women's arena). use are not being used
to their full extent.
habitual cooking/baking glass breakage is
times don't always common, difficult to
coincide with sunny remedy.
hours.
loss of fire for the distance factor
warming oneself at makes diffusion
night. difficult.
fear of providing
opportunity for
poisoning by enemies.
solar cooking seen as
unnatural.
no smoke for
insect-repellent.
lack of smokey taste in
food.
can't cook quickly for
visitors.

many of these constraints could potentially be overcome, with
a resulting increase in both adoption and diffusion, if the radical
nature of solar cooking were addressed through the use of multiple
introduction. in this case, the follow-up (roughly equivalent
to the research undertaken with the present evaluation) identified
the constraints summarized in table 16 above.

the initial introduction

a structured follow-up

adaptation (re-invention) of the innovation

(at least one) re-introduction

the third element of multiple introduction, adaptation of the
innovation as well as of the introduction program, would address
those constraints (table 17). adaptation includes taking the
knowledge gained and the recommendations generated and using them
to supplement the initial introduction of the innovation -- that
is, to re-introduce it in the same geographical area.

taking into account the present results of promotional efforts
for sbcs in the mutare district, the next step for solar
cookers international and plan mutare should be to focus on addressing
the problems found in this evaluative follow-up. (a summary of
recommendations, and recommendations for further research are
provided in appendices c and d.) concentrated efforts to adapt
the sbc for use in the area by soliciting the help of local
sbc users would be well-spent, with the aim of subsequently
re-introducing an improved sbc technology in the same basic
geographic area.

table 17: addressing identified constraints

cultural constraintspossible adaptations of sbc and introduction program
staple food (sadza) is encourage use of sbc as a tool for
difficult to cook in sbc. supplementing, not replacing, traditional
cooking methods. research workable
recipe for making sadza in a solar
cooker.
gender tug-of-war: provide workshops directed solely at
new technology (men's arena) women, and/or
vs. cooking & food
preparation (women's arena). provide workshops for both men and women,
but stress the use of the sbc for
benefiting whole family, stressing need
for use by the cooking members of the
family.
greater emphasis in workshops on
deforestation and erosion.
habitual cooking/baking
times don't always coincide solicit ideas from individual users at
with sunny hours. workshops.
loss of fire for warming encourage continued adaptation of sbc,
oneself at night. and demonstrate successful adaptations --
e.g., develop a way to lock box; use
bricks in box
fear of poisoning by and close lid after sundown to keep food
enemies. warm; use solar heated bricks as heating
elements on cold nights, etc.
solar cooking seen as
unnatural.
no smoke for
insect-repellent.
lack of smokey taste in
food.
can't cook quickly for
visitors.
logistical constraintspossible solutions
materials are scarce. adapt the cooker: for example, use mud
bricks instead of cardboard (see figure
28).
more training needed: address in the workshops, where immediate
misunderstanding/misinformati clarification can be given to the user:
on hold follow-up workshop for after people
/incorrect use are common; have tried their cookers at home.
for language errors, translate
sbcs in use are not being instructions for building and using sbcs
used to their full extent. (see appendix e) into shona, subsidize
writing of a zimbabwe cookbook.
greater emphasis in workshops on sbcs as
supplements, rather than replacements of
other cooking fuels.
greater promotion of sbcs as innovations
for pasteurizing water.
glass breakage is common, use heat-resistant polyester film
difficult to remedy. (possibly manufactured by 3m company's
zimbabwe plant) instead of glass.
the distance factor makes expand promotional efforts to include the
diffusion difficult. use of a mass medium such as radio, and
(in the larger towns) perhaps even
television.
provide for a permanent/semi-permanent
local resource where previous workshop
attenders can find help with their solar
cooking problems, and where potential
adopters can find answers to their
questions.
socio-economic constraints
materials are expensive. utilize local resources to provide
low-cost materials for building or
reluctance to build sbcs repairing cookers; form buying coops.
without cost-subsidizing.

figure 28: mud bricks drying

radical innovations and multiple introduction

the following hypothetical case study is presented as an illustration
of the importance of multiple introduction in adoption and diffusion
of radical innovations.

mrs. adido, a woman living in a small village, attends a coop
meeting in which she sees an innovation (a new and less expensive
tuber variety) for the first time. she examines the tuber, listens
to a talk in which a health worker tells how the tuber can increase
nutrition, but she notes that the new tuber takes longer to cook
than the variety which she now uses, and that growing it requires
twice as much water as the old variety. she realizes that, for
scheduling reasons, she would have to water the tuber field in
the afternoon instead of the morning since it would require two
trips to carry water back and forth. mrs. adido considers all
this information, including the fact that the tuber costs less,
and decides against planting any of the new tuber. the change
in her daily schedule, and the subsequent changes which that imposes
cause her to see this innovation as undesirable, or perhaps unattainable.

in this example, the potential adopter makes a decision based
on facts and comparisons she has heard only once. if that is
all she ever hears about the new tuber, it is unlikely that she
will later have reason to change her mind and reconsider what
might be a beneficial idea. multiple introduction to the idea,
however, may lead her to reconsider the value of the innovation.

some time later, mrs. adido hears from a neighbor that the
new tuber is tasty, and easy to grow. her children mention that
they have also seen the new tuber, during science classes in school
in which nutrition is taught. still later, she hears a radio
program in which the name of the new tuber is mentioned.

she starts to reconsider, not necessarily because of new information,
but because she has had multiple introductions to the innovation,
and the idea's advantages are beginning to seem valid for her
own situation. what she once thought was unattainable or undesirable
now looks attractive, and less risky than before.

here, multiple communication channels also play a role in the
potential adopter's thinking: it is probably safe to say that
hearing the same tuber information several times in presentations
at her women's coop would have much less impact on mrs. adido
than hearing about it from multiple sources such as her neighbor,
her children and a radio program. whether intentional or not,
the use of multiple communication channels is likely to
increase effects seen with the promotional use of multiple introductions.

mrs. adido decides to try the new tuber. she buys some seed
and plants it, and several weeks later, when the new plants have
sprouted, she begins to walk to her vegetable plot twice a day,
carrying extra water for the tuber plants. contrary to her original
understanding, the plants cost her a little more because she must
pay for the water. a more difficult constraint, however, is the
timing of watering. the vegetable plot is only a mile away, but
she can no longer carry adequate water to completely water (according
to the quantity the women's coop recommended in their instructions)
her vegetable plot in one trip. since she sells dry goods and
vegetables in the morning market, she only has time to make one
trip with water before she leaves for market. consequently, when
she returns from the market in the afternoon, she has to make
another (special) trip to water her tubers. this second trip
not only costs more since she must buy additional water, but it
uses up her precious afternoon time when she would normally be
dying cloth for the market.

mrs. adido briefly starts giving the plants half the recommended
amount of water, but notices within days that they fare poorly
without it.

clearly, without a change in the situation, the potential adopter
will eventually be forced to choose between making a living and
eating more nutritiously. this is where re-invention becomes
important. in this example, there is a (probably) useful innovation
that is not quite suited to a particular situation. without an
adaptation or re-design of the system for using the innovation,
it is probable that this potential adopter will discontinue its
use.

mrs. adido, forced to choose between earning a living and eating
more nutritious food, reluctantly decides that she must discontinue
growing the new tuber. on her way to the field to water her plants
that morning, she stops by a friend's house. while talking with
the friend, she notices that the little garden the friend keeps
in the space between houses also has some of the new tubers, and
that they are growing well. mrs. adido mentions her problem with
water, and the friend seems surprised, saying that her tubers
grow well with the little water that she gives them. walking
back from her vegetable plot later, mrs. adido remembers that
the area between the two houses where the tubers were growing
was shaded, and she wonders if the shade is what kept the friend's
tuber plants healthy with less water. the next morning, she brings
a grass mat with her, and constructs a small shaded area over
part of the area where her tuber plants are growing. after only
a few days, she can see a difference between the shaded and unshaded
plants.

she covers the rest of her tuber crop with grass mats and maintains
her once-per-day watering, successfully harvesting her first improved
tuber crop at the end of the season.

in this hypothetical case study, multiple introductions (through,
in this case, multiple communication channels) and adaptation
allowed the adoption of this radical innovation to occur: an absence
of either element would have resulted in the non-adoption or rapid
discontinuance of the new tuber variety.

promotional programs attempting to foster the best chance for
adoption of any innovation should include some use of the elements
of multiple introduction, but their inclusion is especially critical
to the promotion of radical innovations. in the case of solar
box cookers in zimbabwe, the absence of the adaptation and re-introduction
elements of multiple introduction is portentous: their lack may
mean that the use of this otherwise appropriate and useful technology
does not catch on, despite the promising beginnings reflected
in the face of the woman shown in figure 29, who is carrying her
sbc home from a workshop she has just attended. in a region
with critical shortages of cooking fuel, another attempt, utilizing
multiple introduction, at promotion of this potentially priceless
innovation could yield valuable results.

figure 29: mutare woman with newly made sbc

(photograph courtesy of dr. robert metcalf, 1989)

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appendix a: questionnaire

appendix b: quotes illustrating misunderstanding and incorrect
use

table 18: quotes illustrating misunderstanding and incorrect
use

misunderstandingincorrect use
"it is winter, we cannot use the "food is undercooked"
box"
"you cannot use water when you want "you can use it for drying fruit
to cook with it" and meat"
"you can only cook solid foods, "with large amounts of food, the
special foods" texture isn't right"
"you may get food poisoning" "it does not work"
"when you have a big family you "you need a thermometer to gauge
can't use it" the heat"
"the solar cooker is only for
luxury"
"you have to keep on shifting the
box or adjusting the stick"
"when away for the day (to work -author's note), you can't use it"
"you have to use only black pots,
not clay pots"

appendix c: summary of recommendations for future promotional
efforts

the suggestions for adaptation of the sbc and its introduction
program, which were listed in table 17, comprise the recommendations
made in this evaluation for addressing promotion of solar box
cooking in zimbabwe. table 19 summarizes them.

adapt the solar box cooker for use in the individual area
- promote stationary cookers, utilizing mud bricks,
- translate the directions for building and using sbcs into shona, and
have a cookbook written for zimbabwe cuisine,
- experiment with techniques for cooking sadza,
- develop a low-cost locking mechanism for locking an sbc
set up a permanent/semi-permanent local resource
- a knowledgeable person/group of sbc users in the area, and/or
- regular meetings/workshops for building sbcs; a clearinghouse for
information, and/or
- a building or room with demonstration solar boxes, where research or
new ideas for cooking/building could be tried out
form buying co-ops: buy items in bulk, to be sold later at cost
training workshops changes
- emphasize the sbc as supplement, not substitute.
- encourage/facilitate discussion re: constraints and hearsay
information.
- stress that the sbc is designed to be used by the member of the
family who does the cooking.
- incorporate information on adaptations (for example, a lock for the
cooker) into training. solicit ideas for other possible adaptations.
- use and/or build adapted boxes in workshops.
- put greater emphasis on the use of sbcs for pasteurization of water
materials availability
- approach 3m about possibilities for making polyester heat-resistant
film in zimbabwe.
- encourage the substitution of bricks for cardboard, and other locally
available materials for hard-to-come-by materials
intensify efforts, in the same geographical/cultural area,
re-introducing adapted/refined sbcs using information discovered during
follow-up
provide for follow-up after each introduction project

appendix d: recommendations for further research

this evaluation has probably raised as many questions as it answered,
and opportunities for further research on the use and diffusion
of solar cooking technology in zimbabwe, and in other locations
worldwide, are numerous:

frequency of use

the results of some survey questions yield inconsistent information
when compared: in an example discussed previously, answer to a
question dealing with respondents' use of their sbc this year
as compared with last year are inconsistent with answers to a
question regarding how often the sbc is now used. more
research is needed to clarify frequency of use.

questionnaire development

the concept of multiple choice is not necessarily an intuitive
one to an individual who has not previously experienced it, and
in many educational systems outside of the united states, including
many european countries, it is completely unknown. in zimbabwe
(and probably much of africa) therefore, a survey composed of
open-ended questions may be more likely to result in valid information.
supplementary questions related specifically to a country or
cultural group could provide important information -- for example,
survey questions related to attempts to cook sadza might prove
illuminating with respect to solar cooking potential in zimbabwe.
research is needed to determine how best to adapt questionnaires
to a specific environment.

diffusion

a formalized diffusion survey should be done in the communities
adjacent to the study area to better quantify the amount of diffusion
that may have occurred, and to clarify why there seems to have
been little or none.

technical research on sbcs

technical research, such as that related to

- a method for solar-cooking sadza,

- the use of durable materials (such as bricks) in building a
box, and

- the use of local language teaching materials

is also needed.

use of sbc as a supplement to other cooking fuels

information related to the use of an sbc as a supplement
to traditional cooking methods needs to be gathered. questions
related to the supplemental use of an sbc should probably
be added to all follow-up surveys.

multiple introduction

research on the use of multiple introduction promotions needs
to be carried out.